List of Privacy Respecting Services and Software (Ongoing)
User nikitavoloboev on GitHub had created a list of privacy-respecting services and software (originally in 2019) which provide alternatives to popular software developers such as Google, Microsoft, and Apple, as well as major social networks such as Facebook. Ironically, the original list is on GitHub, which is now owned by Microsoft, but it can be found elsewhere on the web as well. It's worth noting that there are quite a few alternatives to GitHub available too, which will be discussed further.
The list begins with corporate search engines such as:
- Google - this one is obvious
- Bing - Microsoft's search engine
- Yandex - Russian version of Google, essentially
Search engines such as these track your searches and use them to serve you with ads and other intrusive features. For instance, you may notice that if you Google something like "baby clothing," then not long after, you will start seeing ads for baby clothing all over the web.
As alternatives, they suggest search engines such as:
DuckDuckGo – a search engine known for its privacy features. Startpage Qwant Searx – technically, this is a metasearch engine, not a search engine, but it will still achieve the same purpose.
It is worth noting that in the case of searx, as with the fediverse, there are many different self-hosted instances. Some of them can be found at searx.space. Several examples include searx.be, xeek.com, and searx.roflcopter.fr. The instances seem to vary widely in quality at times, however. For instance, on start.paulgo.io, an error message came up that read "Error! Engines cannot retrieve results: google ( Suspended: too many requests )." Even so, with searx, you can submit issues on the instance's git repository and try to have them fixed.
Also listed in the post are alternative social networks. Under "You are the product" are social networks like Facebook and Instagram. While not listed on the original post, Twitter (or as the fediverse calls it, "birdsite") should be included there as well. Facebook, in particular, is one of the most egregious offenders in the arena of privacy, given all the revelations that have come out about them in recent years, most recently the whistleblowers like Frances Haugen and others who followed suit.
Alternatives that they suggest are:
Scuttlebutt is a decentralized, P2P, open-source social platform.
Mastodon - Mastodon, which has been referenced on earlier posts, is also a decentralized social network, and part of the aforementioned fediverse. It uses the ActivityPub protocol, which is designed for federated (i.e. on interconnected servers) social networks. Like searx, Mastodon has many different instances, which are self-hosted. Examples include mstdn.social, mastodon.earth, and hellsite.site, among quite a few others. Each instance tends to have a different theme; for example, there are instances for artists, dads, hackers, and furries (or perhaps all at once in some cases).
Diaspora - Like Mastodon, Diaspora is also part of the fediverse, although it has a different type of UI/UX. Its feel is a bit more similar to Facebook, though without the invasive tracking issues.
Steem (Steemit) - Steem is a blockchain-based blogging and social media service
Indieweb - A community for building independent, open source social networks like those above
Minds - Minds is an alt-tech blockchain-based social network
Chttr - A "politically neutral" social network
Pleroma - Also part of the fediverse, Pleroma, like Mastodon, uses the ActivityPub protocol, though it has a somewhat different feel.
Cent - a democratized social network built on Ethereum
While the entire list won't be shared here, the rest of it also includes sections on email, operating systems, browsers, video sharing, and even AI assistants. Some of the OS's suggested are Linux, Tails OS, and Android with CopperheadOS; under browsers, they suggest such options as Firefox, Vivaldi, and Tor Browser.
It should be noted that one social network not mentioned in the repository is Misskey, which is also part of the fediverse. Like Mastodon and Pleroma, it also uses the ActivityPub protocol, but it has many niche features, such as a Gallery, Chat, Games, and reactions. Some of the instances can be found at
EDIT: A few
What do you think? Are there alternatives to popular proprietary software that should be discussed here?